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Indoor Google Maps for Mall Of America

With Black Friday looming as the biggest day in retail, Google has announced that it is playing Santa’s little helper this year--with several new ideas from Google Shopping and Google Maps.

Some examples. There’s a new and improved Google Shopper 3.0 that helps you browse for gift ideas, research new products, and find local brick and mortar sales on streets near you.

Other new features make buying online more about an experience than about being simply price savvy and convenient. For example, Google Shopping now gives you a 360-degree swivel on certain products (HTML5 enabled browser required) that gives you the detail necessary for certain products. Goodbye flat art that leaves you guessing.

Something else that’s new in Google Shopping is Shortlisting. This handy holiday feature lets you bucket all your products (and reviews) into a single file, rather than bookmarking and saving URLs. And in keeping with the holiday spirit, you can share all of this with scattered friends and family.

Like the look, but don’t care for the color, the price, or the label? Another smart feature on Google Shopping searches for “visually similar” items, especially good when looking for that perfect bag, jewelry, clothing, guitar, or whatever.

Of course, you can also browse holiday catalogs online, right on Google Shopper.

And when you’re tired of yawning into your smartphone (or laptop) and decide to go out for some elbow-knocking and holiday cheer, Google Maps shows you how to zip around Macy’s, Nordstrom’s and the Mall of America. Google Maps also helps you find your way through Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Roppongi Hills in Tokyo, Harrods in London, or that famous maze in Stockholm (also known as IKEA).

This is one season where Google and Android pair up to beat the iPhone in a cross-disciplinary coup. Which might be cause for iPhone enthusiasts to wonder if maybe it’s time to look for a new stocking stuffer?